Preparing
Your Manuscript for Production
PROCEDURE
FOR INDEXING
I. General
Remarks
The index
should be started as soon as the author or freelance indexer receives the
first installment of page proof. Indexing should continue with each successive
installment; within ten days after receipt of the last installment of pages,
the index should be alphabetized and typed. (Because the time allocated
for indexing is so short, authors are strongly urged to begin preliminary
indexing before the page proof stage: circle significant words and discussions
in a copy of the manuscript; separate the important from the not so important.)
For
indexing, use the duplicate copy of page proof. Transfer from the printer's
set any corrections that might affect the index. (Please let your production
contact know if you find any important corrections while indexing.) Then
read each page carefully, with the following criteria in mind:
-
What is
the most significant word in each discussion?
-
What information
is the reader likely to look up, and under which word or phrase?
The principal
subdivisions of an index are the entry and the subentry. An entry should
be a noun or substantive. Exception is made, however, when a well-known
compound term begins with an adjective (e.g., Real estate). An adjective
standing alone is not a suitable entry. Alphabetize subentries according
to the first principal word, ignoring prepositions, articles, and conjunctions.
Use the word for which most readers are likely to search, usually a noun.
For example:
Reading
connecting to a child's life
not
Connecting reading to a child's life
Front
matter sections, appendixes, tables, illustrations, and bibliographies
(or parts thereof) are usually not indexed. If the names of more than 100
persons are indexed, a separate Author Index may be required. (Check with
your series editor if there are any questions about what sort of index
is needed.) Footnotes are indexed only if they supply information not in
the text on the same page. The roman letter "n" after a page number indicates
a footnote.
II. Index
Entry Preparation
Circle
items in page proof that should be indexed. Transfer index items and page
number to 3 x 5 inch cards, make notes in page proof of entries and subentries
to be used, or create an entry in a word-processing file if you are using
a computer. Use a separate card or entry for each entry and subentry; repeat
the entry at the top of the card for each subentry. If you plan to use
your word processor to alphabetize your entries, be sure you use the system
to create the entries in such a way that your particular software will
alphabetize without disconnecting the subentries from the main entries.
Capitalize the first word of each entry; all other words should be lower
case unless they require capitalization for other reasons. Two typical
cards might look as follows:
Molecules
complex, 203
Molecules
complex, 203
|
|
Molecules
polar, 206
Molecules
polar, 206
|
|
If you
are using index cards, there are two ways of arranging the index cards
in alphabetical order. The first is to keep them in page-number order until
the indexer has gone through all the page proof. Cards are then alphabetized
at one time. Duplicate entries and synonymous terms are eliminated, and
all page numbers for a given entry are listed on one card. The second way
is to alphabetize the cards as they are written, eliminating subentries
by transferring them to entry cards. Inexperienced indexers are strongly
advised to use the first method because it minimizes error.
Alphabetizing
Cards
should be alphabetized letter by letter, not word by word.
Letter
by Letter
Newark
New
Hampshire
Newport
New
York
|
Word
by Word
New
Hampshire
New
York
Newark
Newport
|
Alphabetize
items beginning with a number or Greek letter as if they were spelled out
(e.g., "400 Club" falls under F and "[pi symbol] orbital" under P). Exception:
In chemical terms a prefixed symbol is disregarded.
2-Methylpropenoic
acid, 644, 804
Methyl
n-propyl ketone, 764
Methyl
n-propylmalonic ester, 903
3-Methylpyridine,
1056
Names
beginning with Mc or St. or Mt. should be alphabetized as if they were
spelled Mac or Saint or Mount. Names beginning with contractions like L'
or O' are alphabetized as solid words. Abbreviations of organizations (e.g.,
UNESCO, ILGWU) are alphabetized according to the letters in the abbreviation,
not as if they were spelled out.
Check
the Chicago Manual of Style for alphabetization of foreign names.
For instance,
Tocqueville, de
not
de Tocqueville
III. Style
A preposition
is used to show the relationship between the subentry and the entry.
Reflections,
532
defects in, 534
phase change on, 546
of plane wave, 535
of spherical wave, 537
Note that
prepositions are disregarded in alphabetizing subentries. Use the preposition
instead of the possessive case. (Of course, there are exceptions: Newton's
laws of motion, not Laws of motion of Newton.)
Page
references should be given in numerical order (28, 45-52, 73) and in full
(182-193, not 182-93). If the entry has no page number it is set on a separate
line, followed by a colon. If an entry is not followed by a page number
and has only one subentry, combine the two into one entry on one line.
(Entries unmodified by subentries should not be followed by an extensive
series of page numbers.) The first subentry is set on the next line, indented
one step. Sub-subentries are indented one step further. It is seldom necessary
to go beyond the level of sub-subentry except in highly technical books.
Pressure
air, 163-168
defined, 163
atmospheric, 157
|
Options,
stock, 373
|
Behavioral
elements, 227-244
biogenic, 228
psychological, 229-233
models of, 230-232
|
The
abbreviations "f.," "ff.," and "et seq." should not be used in an index;
"passim," which means "here and there," indicates scattered references
in a series of pages and should be used sparingly.
Cross-referencing
There
are two types of cross-references, see and see also; both
are set in lower case italic in parentheses. To refer the reader from an
entry that is not used to one that is used, use the see reference.
Run it in without giving page numbers. The entry cross-referenced should
appear in place exactly as it does in the cross-reference.
Medical
insurance (see Health insurance)
Use a
separate entry rather than a see cross-reference for brief entries
that would take the same amount of space or less than the cross-reference:
Exceptional learners, 48-50
Special-needs students, 48-50
not
Special-needs students (see Exceptional learners)
To refer
the reader to additional information, use the see also form. Run
it after the entry or subentry to which it refers.
Stock
(see also Investments):
averages, (303-310)
blue chip, 324, 326, 327n
corporation, 298-301 (see also Dividends)
IV. Index
Manuscript Preparation
After
the entries have been alphabetized, the index should be typed or output,
double-spaced throughout, in a single column on 8-1/2 by 11 inch paper.
Submit a word processor disk with the file on it along with a hard copy.
Subordination of items is shown by indention. Use two typewriter spaces
for each step of indention.
V. Index
revision for new edition
Usually
an index for a new edition is completely reset. Authors should follow the
instructions above rather than attempt to delete old entries, add new entries,
and check new page numbers. Such an attempt opens the door to frustration
and error, even when few changes have been made in the new edition.
Back
to>> Preparing Your First
Edition
ALLYN
& BACON COLLEGE: Faculty
Center | Student
Center | Author
Center | Catalog
| Contact Us
| Allyn & Bacon Home
A&B
INTERACTIVE: A&B Interactive
Home | Technology Solutions
| Website
Gallery | Technology Training
| Technical
Support
A&B
PROFESSIONAL BOOKS: Online
Bookstore
|